Little Italy, Montréal identity

Identity, Consumer

Ad agency OPEN, based in Montréal, Canada, recently designed a brand identity for the city’s Little Italy neighborhood centered around the traditional Italian expression vivere emozione (living emotion), with the letter V as the brand’s central symbol. The letterform acts as a uniting element around which an array of textures represents the expanding, multi-generational nature of Little Italy. Neighborhood businesses have been given creative license to use these different patterns to identify themselves with three commercial and cultural pillars: gastronomy, sports and culture.

“Neighborhoods can often become just as well-known as the cities they comprise, and it’s imperative for the neighborhoods to stand out on their own if they want to remain competitive,” says Sylvain Raymond, strategy director at OPEN, Montréal. “Little Italy’s unique character stems from the energy the neighborhood has been emanating every day, for generations. By focusing on this, we were able to articulate what really makes its cultural and commercial offerings stand out.”